Mark Cavendish pulls out of Tour of Catalunya with bout of flu

Mark Cavendish’s troubled start to the year continued as he abandoned the Tour of Catalunya three days after a stage victory.

The Columbia rider withdrew 50 miles into stage five with flu, saying: ‘I’ve been ill for two days and it’s getting worse.’

Cavendish, a winner of six stages in last season’s Tour de France, had only just got back in the saddle after dental problems. His emphatic sprint victory on Tuesday marked his first success in six months.

Team manager Brian Holm said: ‘I told him to stop if he was feeling so bad. He wasn’t happy, but it was the right thing to do.’ Cavendish, 24, was road racing’s most prolific rider last year, with 24 wins.